Adab al-Mufrad

Benefits and Issues:
➊ There is a difference of opinion regarding the number of major sins, the details of which have already been discussed in the explanation of Hadith 8. Sometimes, depending on the individual, place, and time, the heinousness of a major sin becomes even greater. In order to avoid sin, it is necessary for a person to be aware of its repulsiveness and to know its harms.

➋ The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would, from time to time, warn his Companions (radi Allahu anhum) about deadly sins so that they would avoid them and thereby attain the pleasure of Allah. In this, there is guidance for a preacher that he should continue to inform his common people and students about good and evil, especially to warn them about those sins which incur the severe wrath of Allah.

➌ In this hadith, there is guidance for the scholars that before informing the general public about a great and significant issue, they should mentally prepare them so that the message can reach them more effectively. Just as wild herbs grow on land by themselves, but to cultivate a needed crop, the land must be leveled—similarly, with humans, trivial matters are immediately absorbed and accepted, but for something of importance, mental preparation is required. This is as the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) alerted Abu Bakrah (radi Allahu anhu) by saying, “Shall I not inform you...?”

➍ In this hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned, in order, three dangerous sins:
Shirk with Allah:
* Shirk is the root and origin of all sins. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sought refuge from shirk, because with shirk, all of a person’s deeds are destroyed. There are two general types of shirk:
(1) Major shirk (shirk akbar)
(2) Minor shirk (shirk asghar)
Major shirk is to consider anyone as a partner with Allah in His names and attributes, His essence, or His perfections; to believe anyone other than Allah has the power to benefit or harm, to help, to fulfill needs; to call upon anyone other than Allah to solve difficulties—all these fall under major shirk.
Minor shirk is when actions that should be done purely for the pleasure of Allah include the desire for someone else’s approval, or are done for show (riya’), as the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “What I fear most for you is minor shirk, that is, showing off (riya’).” (the hadith)

* The second gravest sin is disobedience to parents. This means causing harm to one’s parents. Disobeying parents and rejecting their words falls under the category of disobedience. The word ‘uqooq’ is derived from ‘aq’, which means to tear or cut something. In the Noble Qur’an, wherever Allah has commanded worship of Himself, He has also commanded kindness to parents. Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) declared disobedience to parents as the greatest sin after shirk. In the present age, people do not reject the words of friends and companions, but feel no shame in disobeying their parents! This attitude is questionable.

* The third major sin is “false speech” (qawl az-zur). In some narrations of Sahih Muslim and others, false testimony (shahadat az-zur) is included among the gravest of the major sins.
Definition of zur: ...Lying, falsehood, slander, praising something contrary to reality—all fall under zur and qawl az-zur. According to their harms, lies have different levels. Qadi Ibn al-‘Arabi divided them into four types:
1. Lying against Allah, which is the most severe form.
2. Lying against the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), for example, saying that he said something which he did not say.
3. Lying against people, such as giving false testimony and thereby depriving someone of their right.
4. Lying for people, and the most reprehensible form of this is lying in transactions.

When mentioning qawl az-zur, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) changed his manner of speaking: he was reclining, then he sat up and repeated the same statement several times. This does not mean that lying is a greater sin than shirk; rather, he did so because people lie without restraint and do not care about it. Furthermore, the harm of shirk is limited to oneself, and the harm of violating parents’ rights is limited to a few specific individuals, but the corruption and harm of lying is much greater than that. An entire society or country can be affected by it, which is why its heinousness was clarified. Another point is that there are many causes for lying, such as malice, envy, and enmity, whereas this is not the case with shirk and parents’ rights; rather, there are many deterrents to these, such as sound human nature preventing shirk and violation of parents’ rights.

➎ “Your sitting up straight and then repeating the statement several times”—in this is a lesson for the preacher and orator that he should adopt the most effective means for calling to Allah. Although excessive gestures and movements during speech are disliked, and speaking with exaggerated facial expressions is forbidden, a moderate amount of movement is appropriate. Repeating a statement increases its importance and is a means of impact. From this, it is understood that it is permissible to adopt the effective means of influence current in the time for the purpose of da‘wah, as long as there is no Shar‘i impediment. When there is sincerity in da‘wah and the most effective means are adopted, it is not unlikely that Allah will change people’s hearts.

➏ “He should have remained silent”—from this it is understood how much the Companions (radi Allahu anhum) cared for the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), that they could not bear his restlessness and distress. The same should be the attitude of a student towards his teacher: he should not do anything in front of the teacher that would distress him. A person is only affected by something when he holds respect and honor for the speaker in his heart, loves the preacher, and cannot bear to see him in difficulty.